


Realizations at the Speed of Light

by AceQueenKing



Category: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Season/Series 03, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-08-16 20:19:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8116093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceQueenKing/pseuds/AceQueenKing
Summary: "Oh man!" Jason said, pointing at the TV, a look of sheer jealousy on his face. "Why did Zordon wait until we left to make them ninjas?"





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VampirePaladin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampirePaladin/gifts).



"Oh man," Jason said. "Ninjas!"

Trini looked up from her book to the news footage, live from Angel Grove—as always. She closed the book with a snap and scooted a bit closer to Jason.

Her heart beat faster as she took a step closer, and she cursed Zack, not for the first time, for moving out. It had been easier when there were three of them to pretend that it didn't matter that she always sat a heartbeat away from Jason, that it was just her end of the couch, and perhaps even that it meant little if, perhaps, she put her legs on Jason's strong, sturdy lap. Now that Zach was gone, the space between them was loud and irritating.

"Ninjas!" Jason pointed at the TV, a look of sheer jealousy on his face. "Why did Zordon wait until we left to make them _ninjas_?"

She scooted a little bit closer to him, laying her hand on his shoulder ostensibly in comfort. Jason was warm to the touch, the muscles of his arms strong beneath her fingers.

"I think Rita and Zedd have been pressing them hard lately." She made a face. She called Kim every night, and Kim's complaints about the "Gruesome Twosome" as Kim liked to call them, had risen lately. Zedd and Rita were far more potent together than they ever had been alone. She'd never admit it, but Trini wondered just how long they could keep going. Zedd and Rita had taken her Sabertooth Tiger, her Griffin. She watched Aisha – clad in a bright yellow ninja outfit with a bear medallion – kick what appeared to be an overgrown geranium square in the head. The blow seemed barely to stun it.

Trini frowned.

"Do you think they got to choose their animals?" Jason laughed. She smiled, in spite of her fretting. Jason never gave up no matter how bleak the scenario, and he managed to find the good in anything—even alien invasions.

"More like the animal chooses you," she said, patting his shoulder. His large hand wound across her back, and she felt a blush burning on her cheeks. She turned toward the TV, watching closely as their zords appeared.

"What does it say about Adam that he's a frog?" Jason said, laughing. She knew he'd be teasing the new black ranger over that the next time the team made a long distance call. His fingers hit the bare flesh of her forearm, and she debated standing, not wanting to leave but equally unwilling to let Jason see her bright red face.

"Don't you remember you were a giant lizard with teeny arms?" She teased, a bit too fast to deliver the joke well, but Jason didn't mind.

"Hey, everybody loves the T. Rex." He pumped one long, muscular arm and she giggled, her face no doubt brighter red than his old uniform. She ran her fingers through her long hair, moving more of it toward the front of face to hide her emotions.

"And Saber-Tooth Tigers as well, of course." He said, and she froze, her long hair still curled around in her eyes. Was he flirting with her? It was possible, but far from definite. She bit her lip and turned up the volume, watching as the new Megazord destroy Zedd and Rita's latest monster. The potted plant-creature went down with a bang, exploding in a flurry of dirt and leaves.

"Way to go, guys!" She said, clapping and changing the subject.

"Yeah, good job, team." Jason smiled. They watched as the news anchors cheered for their friends. Jason squeezed her shoulder; in the old days, he might have done this in the Command Center and she would have thought nothing of it, the touch barely sensual in the heavy padding of their armor.

Now, though, with a far thinner layer of cloth between them, it felt like so much more.

They watched in silence for a few moments as the news coverage speculated on the identities of the rangers. It was an old topic of conversation, at times complimentary and at times insulting, but at all times little better than gossip. Jason leaned back on the couch, his fingers lightly caressing her shoulder.

"Do you miss it?" He asked softly. She turned toward him, surprised. They had been off the team for nearly a year now; in all that time, Jason had yet to ask them much about how they felt about Angel Grove. Before this, the closest she'd ever heard him come to admitting his homesickness was wishing for one of Ernie's protein shakes.

"Sometimes," she said, softly. "I know we are making a difference here at the Peace Conference but... I do miss Angel Grove."

"Yeah, hard to step down from saving the world." He smiled and her heard beat faster. Jason had always taken pride in being a ranger, in being the leader, in _saving the planet_. He never shirked responsibility, and she wished, deeply, that she could be as confident as he was.

But she was no where near as optimistic as Jason.

"But sometimes...I'm happy we're not there." She frowned. "Rita and Zedd have gotten so powerful. I think... At least with the others, I feel like, if things get bad... We have the Power Rangers to turn to. It's not us making the decisions. It's a lot of responsibility on our shoulders, you know?"

"Yeah." Jason frowned for a moment; she had the feeling that he did not agree. Jason was always happiest to be in the thick of things. "I get what you're saying, but you shouldn't worry."

"Why's that? You and Tommy going to scare off Rita and Zedd for good next time we go home?" She teased, running her hand down his chest.

"No." He looked toward her, his eyes suddenly serious. "Trini, if anything happens... I want you to know, I'll protect you to the end. You're... special to me."

"You're special to me too, Jace." She blinked, dumbstruck. Her heart felt like it was going a million miles an hour; she was quite certain she wouldn't need to bum a ride on Kim's Zord to fly. All the times Kimberly had described feeling floating at the thought of Tommy, and all the times she'd written it off as Kim being Kim. But it _did_ feel like flight, like teleporting, like becoming light and traveling a thousand miles from home and her heard caught in her throat as she smiled. "I'll protect you, too."

“I'll count on it.” Jason smiled and leaned in close; his hand touched her cheek, and Trini gasped as she realized he was going to kiss her. She leaned forward and closed her eyes as their lips met, soft and sweet and heady in ways that made her head spin.

"Zedd and Rita won't win. They can't." He grinned, large and sweet. "I just kissed a pretty girl. That's more powerful than any ninja upgrade."

She smiled and laughed and kissed him again. They weren't connected to the morphing grid anymore, but she felt a spark when their lips touched.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first fandom, way back when I was an itty bitty girl! I haven't thought of Trini, Jason and the gang for years, but your prompts all made it come flooding back. I hope you like this little story. :)


End file.
